There’s been more paddling than usual in the last week or two since our friend Gail has been here and Leif and Susan have taken her under their wing so to speak and introduced her to their foot-propelled kayaks. We paddled or pedaled down to the Vista al Mar on Tuesday and though we didn’t see much wildlife on the trip south, on our way back we did encounter the big sea lion, who has been scarce recently. He was having his afternoon nap, just as Leif has described him, sleeping on his back but with one flipper prominently raised, lifting his head twice a minute to breathe. Our three boats gathered near and we watched him until he woke, whereupon he snorted a bit and dived, but didn’t seem inclined to hasten off. He sounded a couple times to check for fish but it was the humans who eventually turned for home. We heard him speaking again a short time later, but believe that his remarks were intended for another sea lion and probably concerned his claim on that particular volume of water.
Nearer to Punta Nopoló I spotted one of our local raven pair and was lucky to see her returning to her nest, on a ledge near a big bare spot on the east-facing cliff. Though we have been on speaking terms for several years they never mentioned their address. They have at least one youngster and I suspect two; the time they have been spending among the palapas down at the beach must be regarded as work and not play, or at least not all play.